.ee
Encyclopedia
.ee is the Internet
country code
top-level domain
(ccTLD) of Estonia
, operated by Estonian Internet Foundation.
until July 2010. The administrator of .ee domain was the academic Endel Lippmaa. There was a limit of one domain name per legal entity, and registrations of additional names to protect trademarks were specifically denied because "The domain name has no trademark status". As domains under .ee were meant to be an institution's identification on the Internet (like the register code in the commercial register), registration of additional domains in the defense of a trademark or a name form is not possible. Valid registrations were free of charge.
s plus tax.
, which was met with wide criticism. A list of shortcomings was presented in a public notice to EIS by Tõnu Samuel
and Jaan Jänesmäe, mentioning that the .ee domain had become the most expensive TLD in Europe
. Their cause gained over 800 supporters on Facebook.
The NGO Estonian Internet Community was founded partly as a reaction to the controversial domain reform with 22 founding members. Its board is made up of Tõnu Samuel
, Elver Loho, and Heiti Kender. Recently it noted on its blog that several of its members had lost faith in the possibility of any sort of compromise and had independently written e-mails to IANA
asking them to step in to resolve the controversy.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
country code
Country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...
top-level domain
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
(ccTLD) of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, operated by Estonian Internet Foundation.
Second-Level Domain Names
- .com.ee -- companies (incorporated entities) as defined in the Commercial Code
- .pri.ee -- individuals
- .fie.ee -- self-employed people (sole proprietors) as defined in the Commercial Code
- .med.ee -- medical/health care institutions
History
The top-level domain .ee was introduced in 1992 and was operated by EENetEENet
Estonian Educational and Research Network is a governmental nonprofit organization established in August 1993 by the Ministry of Education of Estonia with the task of managing, coordinating and developing the computer network of science, education and culture...
until July 2010. The administrator of .ee domain was the academic Endel Lippmaa. There was a limit of one domain name per legal entity, and registrations of additional names to protect trademarks were specifically denied because "The domain name has no trademark status". As domains under .ee were meant to be an institution's identification on the Internet (like the register code in the commercial register), registration of additional domains in the defense of a trademark or a name form is not possible. Valid registrations were free of charge.
Domain relaunch
The new order of registration of .ee TLD became available on July 5, 2010. Estonian Internet Foundation took over .ee ccTLD registry functions from EENet. All existing domains registered before the transition must be re-registered during a 6 month transition period ending on January 5, 2011. New .ee domain rules allow unlimited number of domains to be registered by a single entity. Private persons can now register domains directly under .ee. Foreign entities can now register .ee domains although all domains must have an administrative contact with residence in Estonia and is usually provided for free by registrar. Domain disputes will be handled by Domain Disputes Committee. Registration services can be done through accredited registrars listed on Estonian Internet Foundation website. Domains can be registered and renewed on a yearly basis. Registration fee for registrars is set to 18.2 EuroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s plus tax.
Criticism
The new order of domain registering was met with great controversy. The relaunch of the registry was at one point delayed to be reassessed. When the relaunch was finalized, the annual fee for a .ee domain was announced to be 285 Estonian kroons (~24 USD) plus taxTax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
, which was met with wide criticism. A list of shortcomings was presented in a public notice to EIS by Tõnu Samuel
Tõnu Samuel
Tõnu Samuel is an Estonian white hat hacker commonly cited by mainstream media in topics regarding network security.- External links :*...
and Jaan Jänesmäe, mentioning that the .ee domain had become the most expensive TLD in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Their cause gained over 800 supporters on Facebook.
The NGO Estonian Internet Community was founded partly as a reaction to the controversial domain reform with 22 founding members. Its board is made up of Tõnu Samuel
Tõnu Samuel
Tõnu Samuel is an Estonian white hat hacker commonly cited by mainstream media in topics regarding network security.- External links :*...
, Elver Loho, and Heiti Kender. Recently it noted on its blog that several of its members had lost faith in the possibility of any sort of compromise and had independently written e-mails to IANA
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
asking them to step in to resolve the controversy.